30 Ambedkar Quotes That May Surprise The BJP
"Hindu raj must be prevented at any cost," wrote Ambedkar.
By Shivam Vij
HINDUSTAN TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
BJP National President Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh paying floral tributes to the Portraits of Pandit DeenDayal Upadhyaya, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee before party workers'convention at Gandhi Maidan on April 14, 2015 in Patna.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Narendra Modi-led government have plans to celebrate Dalit hero Bhim Rao Ambedkar's 126th birthday with great fanfare. It is surprising that they are doing so, because the BJP's Hindutva agenda is at odds with what Ambedkar wrote on Hinduism, Hindu nationalism, even beef-eating. Here are 30 Ambedkar quotes that may actually surprise the BJP.
On Hinduism and caste
"The first and foremost thing that must be recognised is that Hindu Society is a myth. The name Hindu is itself a foreign name. It was given by the Mohammedans to the natives for the purpose of distinguishing themselves [from them]. It does not occur in any Sanskrit work prior to the Mohammedan invasion. They did not feel the necessity of a common name, because they had no conception of their having constituted a community. Hindu Society as such does not exist. It is only a collection of castes. Each caste is conscious of its existence. Its survival is the be-all and end-all of its existence. Castes do not even form a federation. A caste has no feeling that it is affiliated to other castes, except when there is a Hindu-Muslim riot. On all other occasions each caste endeavours to segregate itself and to distinguish itself from other castes."
"The world owes much to rebels who would dare to argue in the face of the pontiff and insist that he is not infallible. I do not care about the credit which every progressive society must give to its rebels. I shall be satisfied if I make the Hindus realise that they are the sick men of India, and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians."
"Each caste not only dines among itself and marries among itself, but each caste prescribes its own distinctive dress. What other explanation can there be of the innumerable styles of dress worn by the men and women of India, which so amuse the tourists? Indeed the ideal Hindu must be like a rat living in his own hole, refusing to have any contact with others. There is an utter lack among the Hindus of what the sociologists call "consciousness of kind." There is no Hindu consciousness of kind. In every Hindu the consciousness that exists is the consciousness of his caste. That is the reason why the Hindus cannot be said to form a society or a nation."
"Anyone who relies on an attempt to turn the members of the caste Hindus into better men by improving their personal character is in my judgment wasting his energy and bugging an illusion."
"The Hindus criticise the Mohammedans for having spread their religion by the use of the sword. They also ridicule Christianity on the score of the Inquisition. But really speaking, who is better and more worthy of our respect--the Mohammedans and Christians who attempted to thrust down the throats of unwilling persons what they regarded as necessary for their salvation, or the Hindu who would not spread the light, who would endeavour to keep others in darkness, who would not consent to share his intellectual and social inheritance with those who are ready and willing to make it a part of their own make-up? I have no hesitation in saying that if the Mohammedan has been cruel, the Hindu has been mean; and meanness is worse than cruelty."
"To put the matter in general terms, Hinduism and social union are incompatible. By its very genius Hinduism believes in social separation, which is another name for social disunity and even creates social separation. If Hindus wish to be one, they will have to discard Hinduism. They cannot be one without violating Hinduism. Hinduism is the greatest obstacle to Hindu Unity. Hinduism cannot create that longing to belong which is the basis of all social unity. On the contrary Hinduism creates an eagerness to separate."
BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Images of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar known as Babasaheb, India's first minister of law and justice and a social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement, top left, and gods and godesses are displayed outside a house in in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking to woo Dalits in order to win the state's legislative elections, which would give him greater momentum to push his economic agenda at the national level. While the BJP dominated Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 national elections, Modi faces a tough fight for Dalit votes against several caste-based parties -- in a state where caste is the most important factor for voters. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
"In the Hindu religion, one can[not] have freedom of speech. A Hindu must surrender his freedom of speech. He must act according to the Vedas. If the Vedas do not support the actions, instructions must be sought from the Smritis, and if the Smritis fail to provide any such instructions, he must follow in the footsteps of the great men. He is not supposed to reason. Hence, so long as you are in the Hindu religion, you cannot expect to have freedom of thought."
"It must be borne in mind that although there are castes among Non-Hindus, as there are among Hindus, caste has not the same social significance for Non-Hindus as it has for Hindus. Ask a Mohammedan or a Sikh who he is. He tells you that he is a Mohammedan or a Sikh, as the case may be. He does not tell you his caste, although he has one; and you are satisfied with his answer. When he tells you that he is a Muslim, you do not proceed to ask him whether he is a Shiya or a Suni; Sheikh or Saiyad; Khatik or Pinjari. When he tells you he is a Sikh, you do not ask him whether he is Jat or Roda, Mazbi or Ramdasi. But you are not satisfied, if a person tells you that he is a Hindu. You feel bound to inquire into his caste. Why? Because so essential is caste in the case of a Hindu, that without knowing it you do not feel sure what sort of a being he is."
On Food
"One can quite understand vegetarianism. One can quite understand meat-eating. But it is difficult to understand why a person who is a flesh-eater should object to one kind of flesh, namely cow's flesh. This is an anomaly which calls for explanation."
"The Census Returns show that the meat of the dead cow forms the chief item of food consumed by communities which are generally classified as untouchable communities. No Hindu community, however low, will touch cow's flesh. There is no community which is really an Untouchable community which has not something to do with the dead cow. Some eat her flesh, some remove the skin, some manufacture articles out of her skin and bones."
"The Touchables, whether they are vegetarians or flesh-eaters, are united in their objection to eat cow's flesh. As against them stand the Untouchables, who eat cow's flesh without compunction and as a matter of course and habit."
"...no one can doubt that there was a time when Hindus, both Brahmins and non-Brahmins, ate not only flesh but also beef."
HINDUSTAN TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
NEW DELHI, INDIA - APRIL 14: People pay tributes during the floral tribute ceremony of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary at Parliament House, on April 14, 2016 in New Delhi, India. Born on April 14, 1891 to Bhimabai Sakpal and Ramji in Madhya Pradesh, Ambedkar was the Chief Architect of India's constitution. He died on December 6, 1956. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
"People are not wrong in observing Caste. In my view, what is wrong is their religion, which has inculcated this notion of Caste. If this is correct, then obviously the enemy, you must grapple with is not the people who observe Caste, but the Shastras which teach them this religion of Caste."
"That the object of the Brahmins in giving up beef-eating was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikshus the supremacy they had acquired is evidenced by the adoption of vegetarianism by Brahmins."
"The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India."
"In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development."
"Caste may be bad. Caste may lead to conduct so gross as to be called man's inhumanity to man. All the same, it must be recognised that the Hindus observe Caste not because they are inhuman or wrong-headed. They observe Caste because they are deeply religious."
On democracy
"In India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship."
"I do not want that our loyalty as Indians should be in the slightest way affected by any competitive loyalty whether that loyalty arises out of our religion, out of our culture or out of our language. I want all people to be Indians first, Indian last and nothing else but Indians."
On Hindu nationalism and Pakistan
"If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt be the greatest calamity for this country. No matter what the Hindus say, Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. It is incompatible with democracy. Hindu raj must be prevented at any cost."
"But it is right to ask if the Musalmans are the only sufferers from the evils that admittedly result from the undemocratic character of Hindu society. Are not the millions of Shudras and non-Brahmins, or millions of the Untouchables, suffering the worst consequences of the undemocratic character of Hindu society?"
HINDUSTAN TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
BHOPAL, INDIA - APRIL 14: Followers celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, on April 14, 2016 in Bhopal, India. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, is considered as the Father of Indian Constitution, the biggest and the most complex constitution in the world. The United Nations for the first time observed the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar, also dubbed 'Ambedkar Jayanti', at the UN headquarters in New York. Born on April 14, 1891 to Bhimabai Sakpal and Ramji in Madhya Pradesh, Ambedkar was the Chief Architect of India's constitution. He died on December 6, 1956. (Photo by Mujeeb Faruqui/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
"The Muslims are howling against the Hindu Maha Sabha and its slogan of Hindudom and Hindu Raj. But who is responsible for this? Hindu Maha Sabha and Hindu Raj are the inescapable nemesis which the Musalmans have brought upon themselves by having a Muslim League. It is action and counter-action. One gives rise to the other. Not partition, but the abolition of the Muslim League and the formation of a mixed party of Hindus and Muslims is the only effective way of burying the ghost of Hindu Raj."
"This attitude of keeping education, wealth and power as a close preserve for themselves and refusing to share it, which the high caste Hindus have developed in their relation with the lower classes of Hindus, is sought to be extended by them to the Muslims. They want to exclude the Muslims from place and power, as they have done to the lower class Hindus. This trait of the high caste Hindus is the key to the understanding of their politics."
"Strange as it may appear, Mr. Savarkar and Mr. Jinnah instead of being opposed to each other on the one nation versus two nations issue are in complete agreement about it. Both agree, not only agree but insist that there are two nations in India—one the Muslim nation and the other Hindu nation."
"Nor should the formation of a mixed party of Hindus and Muslims be difficult in India. There are many lower orders in the Hindu society, whose economic, political and social needs are the same as those of the majority of the Muslims and they would be far more ready to make a common cause with the Muslims for achieving common end than they would with the high caste of Hindus who have denied and deprived them of ordinary human right for centuries."
"If the Musalman will not yield on the issue of Pakistan, then Pakistan must come. So far as I am concerned, the only important question is: Are the Musalmans determined to have Pakistan? Or is Pakistan a mere cry? Is it only a passing mood? Or does it represent their permanent aspiration? On this there may be difference of opinion. Once it becomes certain that the Muslims want Pakistan there can be no doubt that the wise course would be to concede the principle of it."
On Buddhism and conversion
"Though I was born a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a Hindu." - Before converting to Buddhism
"I will not believe in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Neither would I worship them." - In 22 vows administered while converting to Buddhism
"The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have... Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion." - In his speech while converting to Buddhism
"The history of India is nothing but a history of a mortal conflict between Buddhism and Brahminism." - From B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.267 (in the chapter, "The triumph of Brahminism: regicide or the birth of counter-revolution")
